Spousal bereavement, mortality and risk of negative health outcomes among older adults: a population-based study

Lucas Morin; Jonas W Wastesson; Stefan Fors; Neda Agahi; Kristina Johnell

The fourth major conclusion is that the risk of non-fatal adverse health outcomes starts increasing already during the 6-month period prior to spousal loss. Our results are consistent with previous work showing substantial changes in the risk of cardiovascular events and injuries during the months before bereavement. 19,61 In a cross-sectional analysis of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of Americans aged 50 years and older, researchers found that spouses nearing bereavement reported worse mobility, more impairments in instrumental activities of daily living, a greater burden of depressive symptoms and poorer working memory than continuously married individuals. 20 The finding that health outcomes start worsening before spousal death suggests that the observed association between bereavement and ill health is partly attributable to factors that precede widowhood. Thus, any hypothesis for the causal effect of spousal bereavement on health should also explain how the experience of the surviving spouses before the death of their partners contributes to exposing them to serious adverse events.